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In a message dated 1/14/2004 4:59:46 AM GMT Standard Time, elharo@m... writes: The original statement of the law comes from section 2.10 of RFC 793 Elliotte, It is clear that Postel was applying it to TCP. There is no indication either way that he saw its possible "general" relevance as circumscribed to TCP. It's not obvious to me that he was referring only to spec interpretation It seems to me that it is a little pompous to elevate a pragmatic and practical design choice by Postel in the specification of TCP to a "law" of supposed universal truth - Postel's Law (sic). Postel put forward an approach which was intended to produce particular practical results in the context of TCP. Postel's so-called "Law" is, in fact, a rule of thumb. It may be applicable outside its originally intended scope. But intelligent assessment of its relevance or otherwise in specific settings with potentially different functional requirements is required. Always remembering that the fifth digit is not the most cogitatively-endowed part of the human anatomy. Andrew Watt
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